In The Bean Trees, Marietta Greer expiriences a journey across the country in search of a more exciting life. She begins in Pittman County, Kentucky. Since Pittman is such a small place, she knew just about everyone and she was known to them as Missy. She never knew her father because he left when she was young but Missy still grew up with a lot of confidence. She also maintained a job working for the local hospital counting red cells and running errands for the laboratory and x-ray departments. Pittman had some tragedies such as when Missy witnessed a local man thrown into the air and land on top of a billboard due to an overfilled tractor tire that exploded. Since the accident, she was terrified of tires. When she was in school, her two main goals were to graduate high school and avoid an unwanted pregnancy. She showed her desire to complete school to the reader when she said, “But I stayed in school. I was not the smartest or even particularly outstanding but I was there and staying out of trouble and I intended to finish.” Her philosophy was that if she could accomplish these two things, she would be just fine. Once she had accomplished her goals, she wanted to do something exciting rather than spend her life in sheltered Kentucky where all she knew was red cells and tractor tires.
Missy began a mission to leave Pittman and explore what the West had to offer. She left home with pretty much nothing in her early twenties and not knowing where she would end up. She was very practical and a pretty girl just traveling in her little car that she had to push to start. She figured that since she was making a huge change in her life, that she should change her name too. She decided that Taylor was a nice name and thought nothing more about it. On her way west, she literally was handed a baby outside of a bar. She named the baby girl Turtle and tried her best to take care of her on her trip. The two end up in Tuscon, Arizona and meet many new people.
Taylor grows up in many ways while living in Tuscon. She lived with Lou Ann, who had just had a baby and whose husband had recently left her. They become a little family and helped each other out with everything. Taylor and Lou Ann raise their children the best that they could and used each other for support. She learned the world is full of so much more than being afraid of tractor tires. “There seemed to be no end of to the things that could be hiding, waiting it out, right where you thought you could see it all.” Taylor says this for many reasons. When she first met Turtle she was shocked to find that she had been severley abused. Taylor was also exposed to fugitives and learned what they are forced to go through on an daily basis. Through Mattie, the owner of Jesus is Lord Tires, she befriends two fugitives and learned about their journey. They had to hide in sanctuaries beacause they were "illegal." Their daughter had been taken away from them and their family members were killed. Taylor was never exposed to such horrors in Pittman and she felt sorry for them.
Taylor became a very independent young woman. By the end of the story, she was the legal mother of Turtle and even had enough courage to take her two fugitive friends to a church in Oklahoma, even though she could spend two years in prison for it. Taylor was a sheltered child while living in Pittman, but that has now changed. For instance, she use to be so afraid of tires, but now she works with Mattie at the tire store! She is a very loving mother to April "Turtle" Greer and Turtle begins to open up and learn new things. She has a good life set up for herself in Tuscon with Lou Ann and the two children. The Bean Trees shows that people can grow in many ways through life and sometimes it just takes courage and a little push to get it started.
The Bean Trees
*Character AnalysisIn The Bean Trees, Marietta Greer expiriences a journey across the country in search of a more exciting life. She begins in Pittman County, Kentucky. Since Pittman is such a small place, she knew just about everyone and she was known to them as Missy. She never knew her father because he left when she was young but Missy still grew up with a lot of confidence. She also maintained a job working for the local hospital counting red cells and running errands for the laboratory and x-ray departments. Pittman had some tragedies such as when Missy witnessed a local man thrown into the air and land on top of a billboard due to an overfilled tractor tire that exploded. Since the accident, she was terrified of tires. When she was in school, her two main goals were to graduate high school and avoid an unwanted pregnancy. She showed her desire to complete school to the reader when she said, “But I stayed in school. I was not the smartest or even particularly outstanding but I was there and staying out of trouble and I intended to finish.” Her philosophy was that if she could accomplish these two things, she would be just fine. Once she had accomplished her goals, she wanted to do something exciting rather than spend her life in sheltered Kentucky where all she knew was red cells and tractor tires.
Missy began a mission to leave Pittman and explore what the West had to offer. She left home with pretty much nothing in her early twenties and not knowing where she would end up. She was very practical and a pretty girl just traveling in her little car that she had to push to start. She figured that since she was making a huge change in her life, that she should change her name too. She decided that Taylor was a nice name and thought nothing more about it. On her way west, she literally was handed a baby outside of a bar. She named the baby girl Turtle and tried her best to take care of her on her trip. The two end up in Tuscon, Arizona and meet many new people.
Taylor grows up in many ways while living in Tuscon. She lived with Lou Ann, who had just had a baby and whose husband had recently left her. They become a little family and helped each other out with everything. Taylor and Lou Ann raise their children the best that they could and used each other for support. She learned the world is full of so much more than being afraid of tractor tires. “There seemed to be no end of to the things that could be hiding, waiting it out, right where you thought you could see it all.” Taylor says this for many reasons. When she first met Turtle she was shocked to find that she had been severley abused. Taylor was also exposed to fugitives and learned what they are forced to go through on an daily basis. Through Mattie, the owner of Jesus is Lord Tires, she befriends two fugitives and learned about their journey. They had to hide in sanctuaries beacause they were "illegal." Their daughter had been taken away from them and their family members were killed. Taylor was never exposed to such horrors in Pittman and she felt sorry for them.
Taylor became a very independent young woman. By the end of the story, she was the legal mother of Turtle and even had enough courage to take her two fugitive friends to a church in Oklahoma, even though she could spend two years in prison for it. Taylor was a sheltered child while living in Pittman, but that has now changed. For instance, she use to be so afraid of tires, but now she works with Mattie at the tire store! She is a very loving mother to April "Turtle" Greer and Turtle begins to open up and learn new things. She has a good life set up for herself in Tuscon with Lou Ann and the two children. The Bean Trees shows that people can grow in many ways through life and sometimes it just takes courage and a little push to get it started.